Caster



Aprl 25, 1939. w. F. HEOLD CASTER Filed Nov. 13, 1957 lilli! INVENTOR WALTER F HE.RDLJIL ATTORNEY Patente! Apr. 25, 1939 z,1 ss,szs

CAS'IE'B Walter F. Ilerold, Brldgeport, Conn., asslgnor to The Basaick Co mpany. Brldgeport, Conn., a

} corporation o! Connecticut ApplieatlofiNovember 13. 1937, Serial No. 174,436

e Cleims. (01. 16-38) The present inventlon relates to improvements in casters, end s a. continuation in part. of the inventions disclosed -in my patent'appllcations for Casters. Ser. No. 97,904 flled August 26, 1936,

and Ser. No. 132,426 filed March 22, 1937. The

invention relates particularly to a. caster tor insertio'n in and attachme'nt to tubular furnlture 1egs, and in whoh there is provided a.n expa.nd-

ing attachment element conssting 01 am expanding rubber member which both retains the caster in relaton to the leg end provldes shock absorbing means tor preventlng transmisslon of shock to the furniture 1eg.

In oasters of thls type heretofore in use dlfllculty has been experienced in causing the rubber member to initially grip the interlor of the 1eg, so that the rotatable parts tor compressing and expanding the rubber element could be operated without rotation of the rubber element, and also there Was no assurance thai; the bottom of the attachlng means would be pulled 1nto tlght engagement with the lower end of the 1eg, due to the fact that intial lateral expanslon of the rubber element took placa simultaneously along the entire length of the rubber element, with the res'ult that the rubber would grlp the leg adiacent its lower end thus preventing the attaching means from being pulled upwardly with respect to the 1eg.

In my applicatlon Ser. No. 97,904 I havedisclosed means whereby upon axial compresslon and lateral expansion of the rubber member a difi'erential grpping action wa s produced so that its upper end initially gripped the interim of the 5 leg and constituted an anchor which caused the lower end of the caster to be pulled upwardly during the continued compresson. In my-applicaton Sex. No. 132,426 I have disclosed means for intially gripping the interior of the leg a.dja.-

cent the upper end of the rubber element, and wedge means adapted to be dra.wn into the upper end of the rubber member to expand il. durlng the intial movement, this upper end of the rubber element beng in the form 01 a. circumferentially continuous band.

'It' is an object of the present invention to provide a compression member includlng a, wedge surface tor engaging the bere of the rubber member ai; its upper end and further to provi de such upper end in the form of a. circumferential noncontnuousband. whch may be easily Iorced out- -wardly with respect to the rest of the rubber member. It is proposed in the exemplary illustrated embodiment to provide radal slits in the upper end portitm of the rubber member forming a series of segments end whreby the wedge member upon engaging the upper end of the rubber element wlll simply torce the 'segments outwa.rdly to cause the same to frictionally grip the interi'or of the leg. Th1sexpanslon of the upper end o! the rubber element wll1 tequire relatively little torce, and will permlt the rubber member to be substantlally less in diameter than the interior of the leg, whle enabling the person inserting the caster to flrst expand the upper end 10 by an easy manual turning of the compressing means, so that the upper end 1s approzdmately the slze 0! the interim of the leg end ma.y be ea.sily slipped lnto placa. 4

Another object is to provide a. structure in 15 which the same compresslon parts may be con veniently employed with difierent dlameter rubbermembers, thus pern'xittlng of the economica! manufacture of a. wide range of sizes.

A Iurther object is to provide compression 20 means tor engaging the lower end of the rubber element which will engage within the lower end 01' the leg with its outer perlphery spaced upwa.rdly from the lower edge of the leg so that the posslbility of dlsengagement of said compression 25 means through sllght tilting of the 1eg relative to the caster Will be prevented. It Is a further object to provide such compresslon means having an annular bearing projection, wh1ch will space its outer perlphery upwardly wlthin the leg and 30 will also provlde a.n antl-friction surface to ena.ble the rotatable pressure applying means of the caster to be rota.ted relatively to the rubber element with a. minimum amount ofresistance.

With the above and other objects in vie.w. em- 35 bodlments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing, end these embodments w1ll be hereinaiter more tully described with reference thereto and the invention wlll be flnally pointed out in the cla.ims.' 40

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation o! a. caster according to an exemplary illustrated embodimeut of the invention.

Flg. 2 is a. top plan v1ew.

Flg. 3 is a. horizontgl sectlonal v iew taken along the line 3-3 01 Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertice] sectional view showlng the caster lnserted in the tubular turniture 1eg, and 50 with the upper 1:aart of the rubber element outwardly displacd' into gripping relation with the interor of the les.

Fig. 5 is a. vertcal sectional vlew slmilar to 11"1z. ui; w1th the leg turned from the posltion I.

shown in Fig. 4, and showlng the rubber sleeve completely expanded to grip' the tubular 1eg.

Fig. 6 is a slde elevation, partially broken away, o! a. modifled form of the inventlon for attachment to a smaller diameter cylindrlcal tubular leg than that shown in Figs. 1 to 5.

Hg. 7 is a top plan vlew thereof.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation, partlally broken away. of a. further modiflcation tor attachment to a square tubular leg.

F13. 9 1s a top plan view thereof.

Similar reference characters indicate correspondlng parts throughout the several flgures of the drawins.

Referrlng to the drawing, and more partlcularly ho Flgs. 1 to 5 thereof, the caster, acccrdlng to the illustrated exemplary embodiment of the 1nvention, comprlses a caster horn IO carrylng a. caster wheel I I, the horn belng rotatably mounted upon a vertlcally disposed stem l2 extending through a central aperture 13 in the horn top and retained by a riveted washer l4, an annularly grooved bearing plate I5 being secured upon the lower end of the stem by swedglng, as at; I6,

between which plate and the horn top there are .provlded hall bearings II. The stem is provided near its lower end above the bearng plate |5 with an enlarged diameter portion I8 having oppositely disposed. flats lS-l9 thereon, and is provided at its upper end with a. threaded portion 20. The stem I2 below the threaded portion is smaller in'diameter than the threaded portion, and immediately above the enlarged portion l8 there is provided a shoulder portion 2| substantially correspondlng in diameter to the diameter of the threaded portion, bui; smaller in diameter than the enlarged portion l8. Upon the portion l8 there is mounted a hexagonal nut 22 bavlng a non-circular aperture 23 corresponding in shape to the cross-section of the portion l8, so that. the nut is flxed aga.inst rotation with relation to the stem, and upon being turned imparts rotatlon to the stem.

Above the nut 22 there is engaged upon the stem l2 a circular washer 24 of slightly larger dlameter than the outside diameter of the tubu- 1ar leg 25, to whch the caster is to be attached, and which is adapted to engage the lower edge of the Ieg, thls washer having a central circular aperture 26 rotatably engaged upon the shoulder portion 2| and whlch substantially centralizes the washer with respect to the stem.

Above the washer 24 there is engaged upon the stem the lower cbmpression washer 21, of sllghtly smaller dameter than the inside diameter 01' the leg so that It will engage freely within the leg,

this washer having a central aperture 28 loosely engaged by the stem. An annular downwardly embossed spaclng and bearing portion 29 surrounds the aperture 28 and bears upon the upper surface of the washer 24. It will be noted that th1s annular portion 29 provides a. relatively small diameter anti-friction bearing surface which will enable the washer 24 to turn freely with respect to the washer 2'! with the least amount of fr1ctional resstance, and also spaces the outer perlphery of the washer 21 upwardly from the lower edge of the tubular 1eg 25 so that in the event of slight tilting between the leg and the caster, such a.s might occur if there is unusually great impact against the caster there will be no chance of the washer 21 becoming disengaged from the interior 01' the 1eg and slipping benea.th the lower edge, and such as might be the case 11 the outer peripheral edge of the washer 21 'portion 01 the sleeve is provided with a series of radial sllts 32, so that this upper end portion whlle being integral and identical in reslience and hardness with the lower portion 1s clrcumferentially non-continuous, and may therefore be readlly displaced outwardly simply by exertlng outward pressure within the bora of the sleeve. While the rubber sleeve is therefore constructed 01 the same rubber throughout and is ci equal interlor and exterior diameter from top to bottom, its upper portion may nevertheless be expanded with much greater ease,than the lower portion, the expanslon in the upper portlon teking place simply by lateral displacement 01! the sgments while the expansion of the lower portion takes plac by vertically applied compresslon. Upon the upper threaded end 20 01 the stem l2 there ls engaged a conical expa.nder 33 normally disposed above the upper end of the rubber sleeve in the detached posltion of the caster a.s shown in Fig. 4. This expander ls provided ai; its upper end with a shoulder 34, and an upper compression plate 35 is forced upon the expander beneath this shoulder. This upper compression plate 35 is adapted to engage the upper end of the 'sleeve in the compressed relation, presently to be more ful1y descrlbed, and its outer dlameter is preferably slghtly less than the outer diameter of the sleeve, although 1t ma.y i! desired be of the same diameter.

The operation is as follows:

As shown in Fig. 1 the parts are in their normal relation before insertion in the tubular leg. It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the Outside diameter of the tubular rubber sleeve is substantlally less than the inside diameter of the leg, and in order to cause the sleeve to grp the leg preparatory to compressing the sleeve the expander 33 15 turned down upon the threaded portion 20 for a. short distance to partiallyengage lt withn the upper radially slit portion of the sleeve, so that th1s portion is outwardly displaced just sufiiciently to enable it to be inserted into the tubular leg. Ordlnarlly the frictlon thus provided is suflcient to hold the sleeve against rotation as the nut Il and stem I2 are turned to cause the expa.nder to move downwardly upon the threaded portion 20, and the friction between the expander 33 and the rubber sleeve is suflcient to hold the expander against relative rotatlon. If ths is not suflclent a. slight tilting of the rubber to bring one side against the inner surface of the leg will serve to hold 1t against rotation until the expander ls drawn down su.fficiently within the rubber sleeve to cause 1t to positively grip the leg. The intial downward movement of the expander which causes the conica] portion to enter fully the upper radially slit portion of the sleeve will cause this upper portlon to tlghtly grip the interor of the tubular leg, and as the resistance of this portion to the entering action of the expander is reduced by the fact that it is not circumferentlally contnuous th1s initial actiou may be performed wlth portionbelmvieidupperendporizicn.meanson imperative enne. 'Ib downvvud movemeni; o!

tbe expmder'is i;ben eoni:lnued by eontinued' turnlncoftbenui: llmdai:emll.whichmaybe dune viizh n aulizable spenner wrench, end me:

the sleeve to be compietely expended into ti|fbt enmementjvltb i;be interlor of the le: le ebovm in l'13. 5. During thle action the upper portion wfllflrsincizasananchor grip.nnditthereisn.ny looaenees or space beizween the lower end of the le: and the wa.sher 2|. the wasber wlll be drum upwardly lnto tighi: emement wlizb the leg. due to the taci: thai: i;he expander 33 end compression mber il are in efleci; held aga.lnst movement as the stem l2 moves upwardly as it la rotated.

In Pie. 6 I have shown a. modiflcaizion of the invention ada.pted tor insertion in a. tubular le: smaller diameter i:ba.n thai: shown in Plus. 4 and 5. The saune eompression means tor the rubber sleeve are employed es in the flrat embodimeniz, except thai: the lower end upper compresaion waahers 2! ami il are smaller in diameter than the washers 29 and 35 of the flrst emb0dlment and are slightly lesa in diameizer than the rubber sleeve member 80. 'I'be expander II la the same pari; a: employed in the flrsi: embodlmeni: i;he dlflereni: diameter washer il simply belng forced upon this part. The.ss.me stem l2 sud nut 22 are employed, end in the case of the le; being o! smaller diameter th'an izhe diameter of this nut the washer Il, as employed in the tir-si: embodiment is dispensed with, the leg engaging directly against the nut 22. The structure and operation are otherwise the same a.s described with reterence in the flrsi: embodiment.

In Flg. 8'I ha.veahown a. turther modiflcatlon in whlch the rubber expander sleeve 30 la o! square cross-sectional torm and is'adapted to be inserised within a square tubular leg, the other parts belng exactly the same as described with reference to the other embodimnts. As shown in F18. 9 the upper compression washer 3! is cirqular end ls 01' such dameter as te come within the periphery of the rubber sleeve. 'Ihe 1ower compression washer 21 is also circular.

I have illustrated ami described preferred end satisi'actory embodmeni; of the invention. but ii; will be understood thai. changes may be made therein within the sprii; end scope thereof as deflned in the appended claims.

Ha.ving tbus descrlbed my invention what I cla.im end desire to aecure by Lettera Patent is;--

1. In a furnii;ure support for lnsertiun in a. tubular leg, a floor engaging elemenis, a vertical stem connected thereto, an expe.nsion sleeve laterall-y expansible upon axial compression surrounding said stem a.nd ha'ving upper and lower end surfqces. and including a circumferentially non-continuous porbion ai; its upper end, means on said stem engaging the upper and lower end surfaces o! said sleeve tor axially compressing sald sleeve whereby said sleeve is laterally expanded, said means including a.n expfl.nder element surrounding said stem having means adepted to enter the bore of sa.id sleeve ai: said upper end whereby said circumferentially non-continuous portion o! said sleeve is initially laterally displaced, continued movemeni; o! said expander in ii;s entering direction adapised to latera.lly expa.nd-said sleeve between its ends.

2. In a. furnitux suppori; for insertion in a. tubular leg. a. floor engaging element, a. vertical stem connected therei;o, un expansion sleeve o! rubber surroundlng said stem a.nd including a. circumferentially non-continuous portion ai; it.s upper end. and a. clrcumferentially Continuous ni l aiaem tor uinlly commeeslnt ll1cl sleeve whereby uid sleeve la laterally expanded. 8lld meena lncludin: un expander element mrroundin3saidaiaemhavinzmeansadaptediaoentertbe bore o! ae.id sleeve ai; sa.id upper end wbereby said circumferentially non-continuous portion o! sald sleeve in iniizia.ib laterally diaplaced, continued movement 01 ma expander in i ta eni;etlnz direction-adapted to lutera.lly expurd suid sleeve beizween ii;s ends.

3. In furnlture suppori. tor insertion in a. tubular leg. a. 11001 emflu; element. a. vertice! stem connected thereto. un expa.nsion sleeve laterally expo.naible upon ax1ai compreadon aurrounding sa.id si;em end having upper and lower end surfaces, ii;e upper end portion having a. series of equally spaced radia.l sllte provldlng a. c lrcumferentially non-continwus portion ai; its upper end, mea.ns on sa.id sten: enstging the upper sud lowerend suxfaces oi said sleeve tor a.xia.lly compresslng said. sleeve wher'eby sa.id sleeve is laterally e'xpanded, sald means lncludlng un expa.nder element surroundlug said stem ha.ving means adapised to enter the bore o! aaid sleeve ai. sa.id upper end whereby said circumferenizlally noncontinuous portlon ot sa.id sleeve is initially laterally displaeed, continued movement of said ex pauder 1nlts entering direction adapted i;o laterally expa.nd sa.id sleeve between its ends.

4. In a. fumiture suppori; tor insertion in a tubular leg, a 11001 engaglng element, a vertice! stem conn ected thereto, an expansion sleeve of rubber surrounding said stem end includlng a. clrcumferentially non-continuum portion ai; its upper end, and a. circumferentlally continuous portion below said upper end portion. sa.id sleeve being of equa! cross-sectlonal area from' top to botisom means on said stem tor axla.lly compress- 1ng se.id sleeve whereby said sleeve is laterally expanded, sa.id mea.ns includlng a.n expender element surrouhdlng said stem ha.ving means adapized to enter the bore of sa.id sleeve ai; sa.id upper end whereby said circu'mferentially non-continuous portion o! said sleeve is inltia.lly laterally displ'aced, continued movement of said expander in ii;s entering direction adapted i;o laterally expa.nd sa.id sleeve between its ends.

5. In a furnture support for insertlon in a tubular leg, a. floor engaging element, a. vertical stem connected therei;o. un expansion sleeve latera.lly expansible upon a.xial compression surrounding said stem and havlng upper a.nd lower end surfaces and including a. clrcmferentially non-continuous portion ai: its upper end, means on sa.id stem engasing the upper a.nd lower end surfaces of sald sleeve for axially compresslng said sle'eve whereby sa.id sleeve is laterally expanded, said means includ.ing a.n expa.nder elemeni; surroundlng said stem haVing a. wedge surface ada.pted to enter the bore of sa.id 'sleeve ai. said upper end whereby said circumferentially non-contlnuous portlon of said sleeve is initially lateradly displaced and a. laterally extending wa.sher carried by said expa.nder elemeni; ada.pted upon continued movement of sa.id expander in its entering dlrection to engage the upper end of said sleeve to laterally expand said sleeve between its ends.

6. In a. furr'flture support for insertlon in a tubu1ar leg, a. floor engaging element, a. vertica.l stem connected thereto, a.n expansion sleeve'laterally expansible upon a.xial compression surrounding sa.id stem ami having upper a.nd lower end surfaces, means on sald stem engag'ing the 

